


Bookshopping

by naasad



Series: Stepfamily [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Class Differences, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Shopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 04:10:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17480915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naasad/pseuds/naasad
Summary: Jester wants some bonding time with her new step-dad.





	Bookshopping

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all asked, eventually, I delivered. Please review!
> 
> The shop name is in reference to King Solomon, writer of the Song of Songs, the book of erotic poetry in the bible. Don't believe me? Read Chapter 7:8-10, it's not something you learn about in Sunday School, if you know what I mean. ;)

Caleb woke early in the morning to a knock on his door. “ _ja?_ ”

“ _es ist_ me! Jester!”

Caleb took a deep breath and stood, tugging on his shirt. He looked up to see Jester had already opened the door, holding Frumpkin close. “Hey!”

Jester waved. “Frumpy-wumpy missed you,” she cooed, scritching the cat under the chin.

Frumpkin, the traitor, purred and bumped his head against her arm before hopping down to the floor.

Caleb sighed, deciding to simply be grateful he was wearing pants. “I presume there is a reason you woke me up before the sun, _ja, Schatzi?_ ”

“Yes!” Jester jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “If we go to the Opal Archways now, we’ll get there just as the bookstores open!”

Caleb perked up at the mention of books, then frowned in suspicion.

Jester sighed. “Well, fathers and daughters go shopping together, right? And I was thinking that we both like books, just different kinds of books, so maybe we could go book shopping together! And if we get there right as they open, we’ll have the whole day to visit all the stores and we can get to the ones we really want to see first before anyone else comes to buy books and it’ll be really fun for us!”

“Ah, yes, I see,” Caleb muttered. “Why don’t you cast your disguise and wait for me downstairs, _ja?_ I’ll finish getting dressed and meet you at the doors.”

Jester grinned and leaned forward. “ _Ja!_ ” she squealed, quickly casting disguise self to show her human self, with a few changes. Her hair was no longer black, but a dark auburn, her eyes blue, and freckles dotted her brown skin. “Is this okay?”

Caleb swallowed, blinking back tears. “You look… much like my mother.”

“Oh,” said Jester, “I can change it. If – if you want.”

Caleb shook his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “No, _Liebling,_ it’s fine.” Once she’d left the room, he took a deep breath, scrubbing at his face. Frumpkin nuzzled against his leg. He shrugged on his books, coat, and scarf, and reached down to pick him up. “Time to go.”

He found Jester waiting at the doors, still disguised, and they set off for the Opal Archways in blessed silence.

“So,” Jester said, as they crossed under the arch just as the sun rose. “How many books are you going to buy?”

Caleb shrugged. “Probably only one or two. I still need most of my money for ink and parchment. And emergencies, you know, just in case, _ja?_ ”

Jester blew a raspberry. “Only one or two? _Caleb._ You should get at least… ten!”

“Ten books!” Caleb took a step back in shock.

Jester nodded. “Well, you have the money, right?

“Well, yes… But, _verdammt_ , Jester, that is _at least_ 250 gold! That is very nearly a year’s wages!”

“Really?” Jester asked, tilting her head thoughtfully. “My mom makes like twice that much in a hour, though.”

“Ah, yes,” Caleb said, stumbling over his words a bit. “Well, you are… How do you say _Oberklasse?_ Over class? Upper class! You are very upper class, you know?”

“Well, yeah,” Jester said. “But not that much.” She pranced down the road a bit before realizing Caleb had stopped.

Caleb tugged at the lapels of his coat and glanced back up the road, thinking.

“Oh,” Jester said. She walked back and linked her arm with Caleb’s dragging him away. “Okay, we will each get five books. You are a little over class, too, now, so you can have more and that’s okay. And I will not get too much because I already have a lot at home, anyway.”

Caleb winced. “Three?”

“Four,” Jester insisted.

Caleb frowned in thought, then nodded, smiling. “Four, then.” He glanced to the side, calculating his purse, then nodded once more, mumbling to himself. “ _ja, vier sind gut._ ”

“ _ja._ ” Jester grinned, patting his arm. “Oh, look, here we are!” She gestured with a flourish to the sign in front of them – _Solomon’s Quill_. “It’s named after the _most famous_ smut writer in _all_ of Wildemount, like three thousands of years ago.”

Caleb blinked, then looked to his daughter. “Jester. I’m not going into a smut shop with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed. :) Please let me know what you think!


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